Genre Study

What is it?

• Genre means type or category
• To study a film as a genre involves grouping together a large body of films according to characteristics that they all share
• There are two approaches to identify these characteristics: the descriptive approach and the functional approach

The two approaches

• A descriptive approach to genre study means simply describing the attributes of a film, such as theme, mood and setting, and assigning it to a genre on that basis (eg film noir)
• A functional approach means defining the function or purpose of a film and linking it to other films trying to do the same thing (eg block busters)

Genre study vs. auterism

• There seems to be a contrast between these two approaches
• Genre study is all about thinking what makes a particular film the same as many other, regardless of director
• Auterism is all about thinking what makes a particular film different from any other according to who directed it

Why study films according to genre?

1. simplifying and making sense of film (convenience)
2. comparison of particular characteristics of films
3. tracing and understanding social development
4. satisfaction of expectations

Problems with the descriptive approach to genre study

·         Boundaries between film genres are fuzzy – some films are hard to categorize

·         Is Alien a horror or a science fiction film?

·         Genres evolve over time. Look at thrillers from the 1930s and from today. Do they belong together?

Problems with functional approach to genre study

• The function of the same film can often be read in different ways
• E.g. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, 1956, USA (written by Daniel Mainwaring) can be anti-communist, anti-American

General problems with genre study

• Who should define genres: film critics, the film industry, or movie-goers?

Criticisms of genre study

• The main criticism assigning a genre to every film is artificial and contrived
• Robert Stam: “are they really the construction of analysts”
• Do you agree?

Examples of main genres (According to Tim Dirks)

• Action
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Crime and gangster
• Drama
• Epics/historical films
• Fantasy
• Horror
• Musicals/dance
• Science fiction
• War
• westerns

Examples of sub-genres within the crime and gangster genre:

• Blaxploitation
• Buddy cop
• Caper stories
• Cops & robbers
• Espionage
• Femme fatales
• Film noir
• Hard-boiled detective
• Heist
• Lovers on the run
• Bod films
• Neo-noir
• Outlaw biker films
• Police
• Private-eye
• Suspense thrillers
• Trial films
• Vice films
• Whodunits